Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller announces the new iPhone 5 during an Apple special event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Photo: Getty Images

The iPhone 5 is here.

Apple unveiled a sleeker, faster version of its popular smartphone at an event today in San Francisco.

The latest iPhone is thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4S, specifically 7.6 mm, 18 percent thinner, and 20 percent lighter, thanks to new technology that eliminates a separate touch-sensing layer in the screen.

The iPhone 5 will hit stores Sept. 21, with pre-orders in the US starting Friday.

The new iPhone will retail for the same price as the iPhone 4S: $199 for the 16GB version, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB.

Meanwhile, the price for the iPhone 4S will drop to $99 for new contract signers, and the iPhone 4 will be free.

The iPhone 5 will come in black and white. It comes with the capability to connect to the fastest wireless networks in the US and overseas and a new processor with graphics that are twice as fast.

“It is an absolute jewel,” Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing said. “It is the most beautiful product we have ever made bar none.”

The new iPhone will also have a longer battery life than the last version, with eight hours of 3G talk time, 3G browsing and LTE browsing.

The iPhone 5 has a four-inch Retina display.

Built-in apps like Safari will take advantage of the bigger display, but existing apps will be centered and letterboxed on the new phone.

The new iPhone also features a better camera and improved video features, including the ability to take pictures while recording video, which is a popular feature on Android phones.

The phone will feature a new FaceTime HD front-facing camera.

The iPhone 5 has a third microphone to help with voice recognition and noise cancelling. The speaker is also better, Apple claims.

The new iPhone also features an updated Siri, which can now pull up sports standings and movie information, launch apps and help you find and book a restaurant.

To charge the iPhone 5, you’ll need one of its new “Lightning” dock connectors.

Apple’s partners like Bose and others are working to support the new connector, but there will be an adapter that lets you plug an old cord into the new iPhone.

The new iPhone will support iOS 6, which means no more Google maps. But, Apple will provide voice-guided turn-by-turn directions with its own maps. iOS 6 also features Facebook integration into a number of apps.

Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the presentation by boasting about the company’s success at its 380 stores in 12 countries and in selling 17 million iPads between April and June.

“We sold more iPads than any PC manufacturer sold of their entire PC line,” Cook said, “Yes we are in a post-PC world.”

Cook also took a shot at the iPad’s competitors, noting that Apple’s share of the tablet market has gone up, even as other companies have released their own tablets.

“I don’t know what these other tablets are doing,” Cook said. “They must be on warehouses or on store shelves or maybe on somebody’s bottom drawer.”

Apple also introduced a new version of iTunes, with iCloud built in, which is due in October.

The company also introduced a new iPod Nano, with a larger display, that can play video, and a new iPod Touch, which supports Siri.

Both the iPod Touch and new Nano will come in various colors.

Apple’s also designed new headphones, dubbed EarPods, that look like a cross between the old earbuds and noise-isolating in-ear headphones.

The iPod Nano will cost $149 for the 16GB model in seven colors. The new iPod Touch, shipping in October, will cost $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model.

The EarPods will ship as a standalone accessory starting today. They will come included with new iPod Touch, the iPhone 5 and the new iPod Nano.